Venezuela: Warning from Cardinal Jorge Urosa of Caracas

Venezuelan Archbishop of Caracas, Cardinal Jorge Urosa, on May 17, 2018, said in an interview with Aid to the Church in Need that “to anticipate the presidential election on May 20 is an affront to the political rights of the Venezuelan people. We have the right to elect our leaders in freedom and with the appropriate procedures, with the ability to achieve a valid result democratically.”

The elections, therefore, the cardinal continued, “should be organized for the last quarterly period of the year, as determined by the Constitution”. They “will not solve the problem of the social crisis, and are devoid of legitimacy. They are neither legal nor democratic.”

According to the Archbishop, in addition to the Church, there are many other groups that do not agree with the process. For example, he said political groups are concerned but are very fragmented, weakened, and severely feel threatened.

“What we certainly know is that the reality of life in Venezuela is miserable,” the Cardinal told ACN. “The lack of drugs and medical supplies is extremely serious, including health care in hospitals.”

The country suffers dramatic food shortages. Costs are high with a kilo of meat costing the equivalent of a worker’s monthly wage.

More than 4 million people have fled the country, according to the Cardinal. “There is an exodus because there is no future…The situation is critical. Right now almost every Venezuelan family has a component that has left the nation “.

Speaking of the possible ways out of the crisis, the Cardinal Urosa said that “the situation can hardly be changed. What change can there be when the government occupies any position of public institutions? We have the National Assembly, but it is virtually paralyzed, as well as political parties that have been effectively ousted. At the same time, you could say that Venezuela has been ‘mortgaged’ in the international geopolitical game. The country has abandoned its cooperation with some countries and has established strategic partnerships with others, such as the exploitation of oil and mineral reserves. But we should not stop praying for our country and hope for a peaceful solution.”

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Lord, deliver us from the temptation to want to save ourselves, and our reputations; help us to acknowledge our guilt and to seek humble and concrete answers together, and in communion with all the People of God. #PBC2019